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Wednesday, June 27, 2012

The Pierces are not of this world. They drift onto the stage, their legs apparently still under their floaty chiffon dresses. Allison summons a tambourine into her hand from thin air. Catherine resists all attempts to photograph her, simply appearing as a glowing white blob.

Their harmonies are supernatural, too. It's impossible to tell the sisters apart, their voices gloriously tangled in perfect union. They make it look casual, but I suspect it might be magic.

The heavenly vocals are perfectly fitted to the setting, Islington's Union Chapel, unlike the menacing undertone of their lyrics ("you get scared when we're alone, like I might suck your blood"). "Is this music appropriate for the Lord?" asks Allison, philosophically. "Well, I think all music pleases God."

After an absence of six months, many fans are expecting the band to play new material. Catherine, the more mischievous of the two siblings, is aware of the anticipation. "We've been working on new songs for you," she teases, "but we're not going to play them tonight. Just know that they're in the works."

Highlights include a sinewy, threatening Love You More, the sugar-coated cyanide pill of Secret and a dark twist on Nirvana's Come As You Are. There may well have been more but mrsdiscopop suddenly took ill and we had to leave. She says it was the heat. I think it was voodoo.

Setlist
Enjoy The Silence (Depeche Mode cover)
Love You More
It Will Not Be Forgotten
Drag You Down
Kissing You Goodbye
Piece Of You (b-side)
Sticks And Stones
Secret
The Good Samaritan
Close My Eyes
Come As You Are
City On Fire
Space + Time
We Are Stars
You'll Be Mine
Glorious
Kathy's Song
I Put Your Records On
Boring